Hire This Guy!!!!

Gives it all to keep a disaster from happening, and then pops right up after being launched.

That's a man who is committed.

Random 1975 Index Page

• That "Rental Housing Survey" is interesting for the way they broke down the ages and the income. 
• I'm not sure what the "Authorized" King James version of the Bible is. 
• And chance that guy didn't find out he could win $7.50?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• There's normally a Christmas star hanging from a crane off of the Landmark site south of Decatur on 287, but I haven't seen it this year.
• There's a PSA to stop sexual abuse I saw this weekend which might be the most powerful thing I've seen in a long time. It depicts just a regular college kid who's not a muscle head doing something to stop it. 
• Mrs. LL and I went down to the Baylor game this weekend: (1) Hey, guy beside me, you want to get control of your kid? (2) And there was the grumpiest old woman in the history of ever sitting in front us. Lady, if you don't want to be there, don't come. (3) The crowd was overall insanely loud with the exception of about 15 minutes in the 4th quarter when every realized Florida State and Ohio State would win.  Then everyone snapped out of it. (4) Shout out to an old college roommate who saw me on the bridge. (5) There were still a lot of Game Day signs on display. Funny, funny stuff. (6) Mrs. LL said she wanted popcorn but the stadium was sold out except for a bags which were big enough to feed an entire section. I bought one anyway. Her face was priceless when I returned. (7) Art Briles being shown on the video board after the game getting in the face of the Big 12 commissioner was a crazy scene that has been under reported 
• Fox News is insane in general but their Saturday morning show is off the rails. I spent about 30 seconds on it and heard the three hosts blame the President for the current state of race relations. 
• How much do you think 61 acres at I-35 and 114 just sold for? (That's just a link for the sale. I don't know the answer.)
• A group of Navy SEALs had a failed mission over the weekend which ended up in two hostages being killed. And that occurred while two of its former members are profiting from writing about the Bin Laden raid. 
• Someone called up Junior Miller on The Ticket this morning accusing him of having an anti-Baylor bias.  His recent ex-wife graduated from Baylor so that'll do it to you. I give him a pass. 
• Mrs. LL and I watched Munich on Friday night. I think I know history but there are a ton of references in that film which were completely over my head. 
• On the Karl Klement car lot south of Decatur, there are hundreds of white work trucks for sale. Who buys those? I mean, it seems like they are at least a third or more of the inventory. 
• That wreck involving a teenager from Rhome described in the Update sounds horrific. Most accidents happen in a split second but this one sounds like you could see it coming. 
• If you tried to get into Fort Worth from Wise County this morning. Good luck. I-35 was shut down between Basswood and 820 due to a fatal wreck. And it's still shut down.

Hot Sports Prediction Before The Final Four Announcement

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State
5. Baylor
6. TCU

• I said three weeks ago that the Committee would shoehorn Ohio State in there if they had any legitimate reason to do so. They do now.
• ESPN and TV have tremendous power. Ohio State means ratings in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, et. al. as well as the general college football fan. Baylor and TCU don't bring that.  
• I think Baylor jumps TCU so the Committee can give head to head, and the Committee, some credibility -- that's the only reason. 
• The only thing which gives me pause about my predicted order is that they moved TCU to #3 above Florida State last week. My "shoehorn" theory about Ohio State has a flaw there. My predicted order of finish would be a no-brainer if they had put TCU at #4 last week.
• But if they put TCU in the Final Four, they catch criticism for leaving Ohio State out and for letting them stay above Baylor after losing head to head. Putting Ohio State in is the safe political choice. 
• This stuff is really fun.  Couldn't be prouder. 
• If Baylor had to pay for the amount of TV time that "Baylor" has been seen or mentioned over the last two days, it would cost multi-millions of dollars. Same goes for TCU. 
• I don't know if it is possible, but if Baylor and TCU are both left out, it would be epic to put them both in the Cotton Bowl for a rematch on a neutral field. 

Art Briles Chewing Out Big 12 Commissioner last night for not declaring "One True Champion". Why? Because he said he would back last summer during "media days":

Edit: Boom!!!! I'm un-retiring my Sports Genius status!

Double edit (stolen from someone else): You put a Longhorn sticker or a Sooner sticker on the side of the helmets of Baylor and TCU then one, or both, are in. 

Head On Collision

Story

Above The Fold

Big College Football Weekend Taking You Into The Same Weekend

Bonus unrelated Christmas GIF:

Rolling Stone Tried To Destroy The U. of Virginia Last Month. Now Says They Were Completely Wrong.

The magazine backtracked this morning with a "Note to Readers" and using the language, "In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie's [the alleged victim's] account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced."

That's a fancy way of saying, "She lied. We bought it. Big time. And this is so bad we have to publically admit we were wrong."

Less than a week after the original story came out, UVA suspended every single fraternity on campus until the next semester pending an investigation.

Guy vs. Icicle: Who Ya Got?

Man, I would have put that hard hat back on pronto.

I Thought State Politicians Were Warning Us ISIS, The Taliban, and al Qaeda Were Coming Across In Droves

Story.

Oh, The Humanity Indeed

The Blazers in-arena blimp crashed into the crowd. pic.twitter.com/ayp5ODcIcq
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) December 5, 2014

Can't escape the carnage.... The Ford SUV blimp crashed inside Blazers game tonight! pic.twitter.com/krGZhDSMJt
— Jonathan Maus (@BikePortland) December 5, 2014

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• That wasn't as near as strong a case against the ex-JP accused of killing the DA, wife, and ADA.  But he was tried on a change of venue in the very conservative Rockwall County. That's the danger of asking for a change of venue: They'll grant the request and then send you into a snake pit. (Ask Darlie Routier whose case was transferred to notoriously conservative Kerr County.) 
• Dallas County reported a flu death this week. Why isn't there a silly Ebola-like panic? 
• It's Kids Jeopardy week.  A week which confirms how little I know. 
• "With today's report, 2014 is on track to be the best year for U.S. jobs gains since 1999." Blame Obama. 
• The Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed a conviction out of Jack County late yesterday with facts about a party that will give you Tired Head. 
• The Cowboys went for it on 4th and goal last night. Before 3rd down, the official incorrectly announced over the PA that is was 2nd down. The camera then went to Jason Garrett who had no reaction. You would think he would want a clarification at that point. Is is possible Garrett didn't realize after the next play that it was actually 4th down when they went for it?  Hey, that exact thing happened in the Baylor/UT game where the official also announced the wrong down. Baylor ended up going for it on 4th and goal, didn't get it, and then the game stopped down because Art Briles was arguing that it had only been 3rd down. 
• There's a case about a 12 year old kid named Tamir Rice, while holding a toy pistol, being shot by a cop in Cleveland. They were describing the video on The Ticket this morning and it sounds really shocking. I've heard almost nothing about it. 
• I saw a Sheriff's Deputy running code red (or whatever its called these days) down College Street in Decatur this morning. 

I Present The Most Bizarre Texas Lawyer Video In The History Of Ever

A couple of guys at the courthouse couldn't wait to tell me about this video this morning. And when they tried to describe it, it gave me Confused Head.

But I had no idea.

I can't explain the first part. (It is borderline NSFW unless a guy wearing underwear and getting oiled up is acceptable in your work place.)

The second part is the guy on the phone with the State Bar of Texas which won't approve his phone number of DWI-KING. (Uh, that would have to be approved?)  His anger is what prompted the video.

Side note: He's done bits before.  And he's a 2001 graduate of the University of Texas Law School.

Second side note: When can I retire from this "profession"?

Bridgeport's Solar Plant That Never Was

In the 1970s, Bridgeport "flirted" with converting to 100% solar energy. Yep, you read that correctly. I know there was an article in Texas Monthly about it back in the day, and I'm almost 100% sure it was even a segment about it on 60 Minutes. So far, the only thing I found is this UPI article in a California paper.

The reason that this came up is that a loyal reader saw this news item from yesterday: "A federal district judge has ordered Waco-based Life Partners Holdings and two top executives to pay $46.9 million in fines for misleading investors about life insurance policies they had purchased from clients who were terminally ill, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed Wednesday . . . . Chief executive and founder Brian Pardo was ordered to pay a $6.2 million civil penalty . . . . "

It was Pardo who was the head of "Solar King" and the guy who tried to convince Bridgeport into believing that a solar energy plant was possible. Of course, it was not.

Mugshot Girl Liked Her Mugshot

Story.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I really have no idea if the cop should have been indicted for the "choke hold" in New York, but I'm leaning "no." He's probably a lousy cop who exercises poor judgment, but he probably didn't commit a crime. 
• But if there was anything that gives credence to my "Too Many Cops" rant, it's that video. How many cops do you need to enforce a silly don't-sell-cigarettes-without-collecting-tax law? How many was that? Six? Seven? Eight? Good lord. 
• If you say, "He'd be alive if he hadn't broken the law", you are pretty shallow. That belief could be used to justify a cop shooting someone for speeding. 
• The cops did a good job of handling the protests in New York. The crowds wanted to peacefully march in protest so the cops just calmly walked beside them. All went well.  In Ferguson, the cops would have put on riot gear and try to block the street. 
• When it comes to getting indicted, it must be conceded that cops and prosecutors generally get a pass for illegal conduct. 
• Fort Worth motorcycle death. 
• There's some crazy/cool artwork behind the Decatur Visitor's Center which now has Christmas decorations. I'm not sure who decided to build that display there because no one ever sees it because of its obscure location. 
• Watched some of one hour special for the Christmas tree lighting last night at Rockefeller Center. Mrs. LL said that all Mariah Carey needed for Christmas was a bra. 
• I've never seen Miracle on 34th Street.
• Heard from a very reliable source that Dallas DA Craig Watkins fired an assistant DA during a trial a couple of weeks ago for supporting Watkins' opponent, Susan Hawk, in the recent election. 
• A man decapitated himself in public in Dallas.

Oh, My: Northwest ISD Bus

PIC - Fire in a school bus on SB I35W near Golden Triangle in Fort Worth. (Pic: Camille Gonzalez) #txfire pic.twitter.com/I8g3v9VBsS
— DFW Scanner (@DFWscanner) December 3, 2014

I'm sure the kids got out (if there were any on the bus), but that's a disturbing visual.

Edit: Make that a Disturbing Visual X 1,000.

Update On The Case About the JP Allegedly Killing Prosecutors

UPDATE: Defense in #EricWilliamsTrial rests without presenting a case. Closing arguments in case start Thursday morning.
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) December 3, 2014

That was quick. And, honestly, what was the most incriminating evidence? I kept waiting for some bombshell piece of evidence. And I thought his wife was going to testify against him. Did I miss that?

(A quick Google search told me the O.J. Simpson trial took 135 days. We move more quickly in Texas.)